


Beautiful Nightmare

by Rinnoa



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dentists, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 09:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5780212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinnoa/pseuds/Rinnoa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Axel liked to consider himself a fearless guy. Nothing that some people found terrifying was scary to him. Nothing. Maybe except demons with dental drills. But dental drills were weapons of mass destruction, and dentists were the masterminds operating them. It was perfectly normal to be afraid of them. Even if they were cute and blond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> I got the inspiration while waiting in a dental clinic with my friend. She's absolutely terrified of dentists and always brings me along to make sure that "that demonic dentist doesn't draw some stupid devil summoning circle on my right cheek and make me the perfect sacrifice" 
> 
> Also, the Demyx/Zexion pairing is only mentioned, the two don't actually interact in this story at all.

Axel was a 26 year old chef-in-training, single, with naturally unnatural bright red hair and green eyes that lots of people swooned at. Originally from a nice, big city called Radiant Garden, he came to Twilight Town to attend the Twilight Culinary Institute, the best school for aspiring chefs in the country. After graduation, he moved out from the dorms the TCI provided and rented a nice flat near the clock tower. It wasn’t very big, but it was comfortable and close to his workplace. **_The Chime_**   was a small, but very pleasant restaurant. The pay was good and his co-workers were nice enough. His boss, a kind lady in her mid-sixties, dotted on him like she would on a grandson she never had, and yet never had any qualms about scolding him.  

All in all, life was good and he couldn’t complain. Usually.

Axel liked to consider himself a fearless guy. Nothing that some people found terrifying was scary to him. Spiders, mice, roaches, heights, water, fire, darkness, ghosts, social interaction, thunders, small spaces, dogs, cats, snakes, blood, injections, nothing. He was always the one his best friend, Demyx, called whenever he spotted a cockroach wandering the halls of his flat. He was the one his other good friend, Marluxia, texted when he discovered a mouse lurking in his basement. Hell, he was the one to reassure Xaldin, a guy that could beat him to a bloody pulp in just two punches, that there were no ghosts in his house after they watched a horror.

He was fearless and immune to phobias. Mostly.

“You will go, Axel”  Zexion said in a voice so cold it almost made Axel flinch.

Zexion was an intern in the local hospital, whom the redhead met through Demyx a bit over five years ago. He usually kept to himself and his books, and by books Axel meant these huge, few-thousands pages long monstrosities about medicine, or maybe it was black magic, no one really knew when it came to Zexion. Demyx has had the biggest crush on him from the moment the guy waltzed into the bookshop where he worked part-time back in college, and it was a huge relief for everyone when the two finally started dating a few months prior. Or perhaps ‘relief’ wasn’t the best word to use. Demyx stopped wailing about Zexion never returning his feelings, true, but he started gloating about _how cute_ Zexy was, or _how nice_ his laughter sounded, or _how perfect_ he was. One just couldn’t win when it came to a lovesick Demyx.

“I am perfectly fine Zex, there’s no need for me to go anywhere” the redhead looked away from the shorter man, admiring the birds that were fighting over some bread crumbs.  Very fascinating. Nature was indeed very-

“Ow! What the fuck Zex!” Axel quickly swatted Zexion’s hand away, putting his own on his cheek protectively. The poke wasn’t gentle at all, and it made the dull pain throb with a newfound power and determination. God _damn_ pills were not working. ‘The pain will be gone in just 15 miutes!’. Yeah _right_.

“You are _not_ fine” Zexion scoffed, taking out his phone and scrolling through his contacts. Seeing where this was going, the redhead quickly snatched the device from the shorter man’s evil clutches and held it high in the air. “Axel. Return my phone at once”

“No. You want to call the devil himself. I won’t let you give away my soul this easily. Not without a _fight_ ” a lot of people, mostly his friends, used to tell him that he was way too dramatic even when the situation didn’t call for it. Others, especially his drama teacher from high school, encouraged him to look into acting, stating that he’d definitely do _so_ well.

He felt a painful jab in his side, causing him to drop the phone right into Zexion’s outstretched palm. He sometimes forgot that the guy took self-defence courses back when he was younger, because he used to attract quite a lot of creepy freaks. Or at least that’s what Axel gathered from Zexion’s stories. He also often forgot that Zexion’s sparring partner was Lexaeus, a guy even more muscular than Xaldin. God, that jab hurt like a bitch.

“You sick bastard, that hurt! Do you enjoy hurting others? Are you a sadist Zex? Does Dem know you’re a fucking sadist?”  the shorter man paid him no attention, far too used to the redhead’s outbursts by now, walking a few steps away from him to call the devil himself. Axel couldn’t hear him from this distance, but he could see his lips moving every now and then. The conversation lasted around a minute or two before Zexion finally ended the call, a satisfied expression on his face. And the redhead knew his soul had been sold.

“You have an appointment today at 6. I know you get off from work at 5:30, I called your boss, so I’ll be there to pick you up. Don’t even think of escaping via the back door” and with that, Zexion walked away, leaving a cursing Axel behind. Zex was a good friend, but damn did he hate him sometimes.

**xxx**

Axel refused to admit that he was nervous, or worse, scared, as he watched the seconds go by. The merciless sound of tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, was unnerving. He was in a kitchen filled with chatter of his co-workers and clattering of pots. Someone was washing the dishes, and another person was cutting the vegetables, the knife hitting the cutting board with a persistent _clack, clack, clack_. The kitchen was filled with noise, and yet the ticking of the clock seemed the loudest to the redhead.

His shift was ending in a few minutes and his boss was watching him, no doubt by Zexion’s orders. He had changed from his work clothes to his casual wear a while ago, and was awaiting the traitor’s arrival. Maybe, just maybe, he could grab one of the knives and scare some customers into calling the police. Even jail was better than the Den of Demons that Zexion wanted to take him to.

Unfortunately, before he could decide whether to use the carving or filleting knife, his boss, who had disappeared roughly 30 seconds ago, returned with Zexion in tow. Axel wasn’t sure how his friend knew his employer, but he suspected it had something to do with all that hospital stuff. His boss was a sucker for doctors, even if they were still just interns. Apparently they were just _the_ _sweetest_.

Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the knife, he walked up to them and bid his boss and co-workers farewell, telling him how glad and honoured he was to have known and worked alongside them. He also asked them to remember him as the most amazing chef and the most modest of everyone in the culinary business, before getting lightly slapped in the back of his head by his boss. Zexion didn’t say anything, but Axel could see him rolling his eye, a sign of impatience.

“It’s not too late for you to drive me back home Zex” the redhead insisted when the shorter man practically pushed him into the car. He wouldn’t have been in this situation if his baby, his precious Harley-Davidson Sportster Superlow he bought two years ago after saving for it since his teenage years, wasn’t in repair.

“No” and with that, Axel knew his time on this Earth had come to an end. His soul would be given to the demon, causing his body to perish into nothingness. His poor mother would never know what happened, would never know her precious son was betrayed by a close friend. His brother, Reno, would never get the chance to return the money he owed him, though Axel had a small suspicious that he never planned to do that in the first place. He’d never be able to warn Demyx that his boyfriend fucking sucked and was a closet sadist, who probably got off on other’s pain. And he’d never be able to tell Saix to just fuck Xemnas already, because all that sexual tension was unbearable. He’d never discover Luxord’s secret when it came to cheating in poker – because there was no way anyone could win all the rounds without cheating. And he’d never get to tell Larxene that even Xigbar would look better in a mini skirt than her. Hell, Xigbar _did_ look better in a mini skirt, as fuzzy and unclear as the memory of the party three years ago was.

“We have arrived” Axel had half the mind to tell Zexion to just fuck off, but knew it would probably just end in a painful jab, either in his ribs or worse, face. Reluctantly, he got out of the car and glared at the building, his glare extra hateful when it zoomed in on the sign.

**_Strife Dental Care_ **

Axel wasn’t afraid of dentists, per se. He was fucking _terrified_ of them since the time his mother took him to one when he was barely 6. Back then, he still believed in tooth fairy and all that jazz. So when he entered the dentist clinic back home and had his tooth pulled out by that lunatic maniac woman calling herself Maleficent, he started believing that dentists were made of others’ fear and pain.

The fact that this particular dentist was apparently Zexion’s _friend_ didn’t soothe Axel’s nerves at all. The last friend that the shorter man introduced to him was this creepy guy with long, blond hair and eerie stare going by the name of Vexen. Vexen looked like the kind of guy that told small children that Santa wasn’t real, simply to test their mental strength and gauge their reactions, only to later note his findings in that notebook he always carried around. Actually, he didn’t just look it. He _was_ that kind of person. To say that Axel disliked him was an understatement. So no one could blame him for being wary of Zexion’s friends. Especially since this particular friend was a goddamn _dentist_.

When they entered, Zexion made Axel sit and not move _or else_ , before disappearing behind a door that probably led to the torture room. The redhead could hear muffled voices from the room his friend entered, and busied himself with texting Demyx. He was typing the 3rd message, deciding that the first two didn’t quite convey how much Zexion sucked, when the door opened and two figures entered the waiting room. Bracing himself for seeing Vexen #2, Axel lifted his eyes from the phone and promptly froze.

The guy standing next to Zexion wasn’t nearly as terrifying or creepy-looking as Vexen. No, he was really, really, _really_ far from it, in fact. The stranger appeared to be around the same height as Zexion. Though his hair was blond, it was so much warmer than Vexen’s.  While the creepy surgeon’s hair had more of an icy feeling to it, this guy’s hair seemed to put sunlight to shame. And his _eyes_. Axel was used to people swooning over his own green orbs, and he had seen his fair share of blue eyes, but never quite the same shade as this stranger’s. They were stunning, a rich blue that reminded the redhead of a cloudless sky looming over crystal clear ocean water. Axel wasn’t usually one to be into all this mushy stuff, but gosh, the kid was pretty. And he hadn’t been on a date since his twenty first birthday. And Marluxia forced him to watch three romantic comedies _in a row_ the previous night. Axel had legitimate excuse to swoon over this blond beauty.

“Axel, this is Roxas Strife, a good friend of mine and an exceptional dentist that will definitely fix your small problem. We met in university. Roxas, this is the fool I’ve been telling you about on the phone. He’s a big baby so please be patient with him”  Zexion’s words hit Axel like a brick, reminding him under what circumstances he was allowed to meet this stranger. Right. So what that he looked cute, he could probably kill someone and laugh at them. He was, after all, a dentist. Dentists, all of them, were demons.

“Alright. Since you’re Mr. Sinclair’s drive, I recommend waiting in the café next door. They serve really nice tea there, and if you tell them you’re my friend, they’ll give you a discount. The owner’s daughter, do you remember Olette?, is my good friend. I don’t know what is wrong with Mr. Sinclair yet, but I don’t think it will take longer than thirty minutes to deal with it”

“Yes, I will do just that. Axel, don’t give Roxas a hard time. He’s already going out of his way and staying at work later than he needs to” with that, Zexion gave the blond  a curt nodded and headed towards the exit. The redhead wanted to yell at him and tell him that he wasn’t the one that wanted to come here, so technically it wasn’t his fault that the dentist had to stay at work later. But at the same time, he knew yelling was pointless, plus the cute blond was looking at him with a polite smile. Damn, he was always weak against cute blondes.

“So, Mr. Sinclair-“

“Axel” the redhead interrupted quickly, not really liking it when people addressed him by his last name. Plus, considering the blond knew Zexion from university and had already graduated, he was most likely around Axel’s age. It just felt wrong to be called ‘Mr’ by one of his peers “Just call me Axel”

“Why, I can’t do that Mr. Sinclair. That would be very unprofessional of me” the redhead wasn’t sure if the shorter boy was joking or not, but they were nearing the torture room and he needed a distraction.

“Ah, but technically, your work hours are over, Doctor. It’s your free time now, meaning you don’t have to be professional if you don’t want to” apparently Axel’s answer pleased the young dentist, because the redhead could see a small grin on the shorter man’s face. And oh, he _liked_ that grin.

“Very true. Alright then, Mr. Sinclair, if you get into the room willingly and sit on the chair and _don’t_ try to escape, I shall call you by your first name” Axel’s good mood evaporated just as the words left the blond’s mouth and the door to the Chamber of Torture was opened. The young dentist looked at him patiently, motioning for the redhead to go inside.

“Aw, is that really necessary? There’s nothing wrong with my teeth, honest. We could just chill in the waiting room and talk and-“

“Go on in, Mr. Sinclair. I will be the judge of your teeth’s condition. If there’s really nothing wrong like you claim, the check-up won’t take longer than five minutes, and you can be out of my clinic before Zexion gets his tea served” Doctor Strife was definitely a dentist. You could just see the sick satisfaction he was getting from Axel’s nervousness and fright. Definitely one of Zexion’s friends, too. Did they have some sadism classes back in TT Medic University?  Or maybe it was a required personality trait to even get into the world of medical care?

Axel glanced at the dentist, and at the door he was holding open for the redhead. Truth was, his upper left premolars hurt like a bitch and he knew there was no way the blond in front of him wouldn’t notice. He had a feeling that he would be in there even longer than thirty minutes, and considered running away. But then again, Zexion’s friend was really cute and Axel kind of really wanted a date with him, and acting like a frightened baby was not a way to impress cute boys.

“Of course it won’t take longer than five minutes, Doctor. I am completely fine” he put on a fake mask of bravery and strolled past the blond, purposefully swinging his hips a little. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the shorter man shaking his head a little.

He took in his surroundings, noticing with a sigh of relief that the room at least looked modern enough. The dental chair looked fairly new, and the paintings on the walls gave the room a professional, yet a little personal touch. It was nice, definitely nicer than Maleficent’s. Then again, probably every dental clinic looked better than that witch’s. Who paints the entire room black with purple touches? Weren’t all medical facilities supposed to be in light blues, greys and whites, like this one? Although this one had some reds and yellows here and there. The soft music playing in the background was quite calming, too. It was nice. Still a torture room, but nicer than the one back in Radiant Garden.

“Okay. Please sit down, Mr. Sinclair and we’ll see if you’re truly as fine as you insist to be” Roxas’ voice was playful, teasing, and it only made Axel more determined to impress the man. He was taking this one out for a date. There’s no way he wasn’t.

But all the bravery left him as soon as his ass connected with the dental chair. The thing was comfortable, sure, but the look in front of him wasn’t. All those _weapons_ that dentist used to inflict pain on their patients were glaring at Axel, and he wanted nothing else but to be out of this suffocating place. He could feel his heartbeat quickening, a tight, uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. The longer he looked at the dental drill, the more he felt like throwing up. Gods, he brushed his teeth regularly and didn’t eat that much candy, he was good to his teeth, he did not deserve to be in this hell.

Roxas must have sensed his distress, because in three swift steps he was standing next to Axel, squeezing his hand.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be alright. I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I’m just going to take a look at your teeth and see what the problem is. If it’s something that’ll be painful to fix, I can give you an anesthetic injection if you’d like. Are you okay with injections? If not, I have some anesthetic cream too. Okay?” the blond was speaking slowly, gently. Although there was no smile on his face, his eyes were warm. Axel let out a shaky breath and squeezed the dentist’s hand back.

“Yeah. Yeah okay” Roxas nodded in satisfaction. After giving the redhead’s hand one more squeeze, he turned around and took out a pair of medical gloves and a mask. He put them on quickly and sat on the stool next to Axel. After pressing some of the buttons, the dental chair the redhead was sitting on started readjusting itself, changing Axel’s position from sitting to lying.  

“Okay Mr. Sinclair. You need to open your mouth, as widely as you can, alright?” the redhead complied, squeezing his eyes shut. Partly because he was really horrified and knew the fright showed in his eyes, and partly because the light from the lamp was too damn bright.

He heard the dentist shifting and felt something cold pressing against his gums. He assumed it was that mirror thing. Axel absolutely loathed it. It reflected all of the damn problems and secrets his teeth had. His theory was proven when he felt it pressing against the source of his pain.

“Well” Roxas started after a minute, his voice prompting Axel to open his eyes “I have good and bad news. Good news is that your teeth look great. You’re taking good care of them and it shows. Bad news is that, despite your efforts, you still managed to get a cavity. It’s small, but it’s still there. I’ll need to remove the decay and place a restoration”

Axel’s thoughts, which consisted of a lot of words that most of mothers wouldn’t like hearing near any of their children, must have been reflected on his face, because Roxas’ hand was squeezing his again.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise. I’ll give you the anesthetic so you don’t have to feel any pain. It’ll be over fast, and you’ll get to catch Zexion before he buys some absurdly thick book in the bookstore that’s around the corner. Okay, Mr. Sinclair?” the mention of their shared friend bough a weak grin to Axel’s face. An absurdly thick book? That did sound like something Zexion would do.

“Yeah. But only if you stop calling me Mr. Sinclair. I’m only 26, you know. Being called Mister makes me feel all old and useless. And you have to give me that anesthetic too” the blond blinked, and though his lips were hidden by the medical mask, the redhead was almost sure they were pulled into a smile.

“Sure thing, Axel”

**xxx**

Exactly nineteen minutes later, Axel stood up from the chair on shaky legs. He might not have felt any pain – in fact he didn’t feel anything at all – and he might not have seen anything, because he kept his eyes shut through the whole ordeal, but the sole fact  that it occurred was enough to send shivers down his spine.

But alas, it was all history now and Axel was free to go. He felt weirdly invincible after surviving a meeting with his biggest nightmare – the dentist and his dental drill – and let his eyes fall onto the blond sitting behind the desk. He was writing out Axel’s patient card or whatever it was called, in case the redhead ever had a problem with teeth and came back to the clinic again. Feeling brave, Axel sat on one of the two empty chairs opposite the blond’s and asked the question that was on the tip of his tongue since the moment he laid his eyes on the shorter man.

“So, Doctor, considering you’re finished with your work for today and all, would you like to grab something to eat? Just the two of us? I happen to know this great restaurant that’s pretty close to here. A fifteen minute walk or so away. And I’m not calling it great just because I work there and am shamelessly advertising. It’s actually a really neat place” Roxas stopped typing on the keyboard, lifting his gaze and meeting Axel’s eyes. His expression was blank, not showing embarrassment, anger, joy, nothing, and it was extremely unnerving. Finally, after what seemed like minutes but was probably just a few seconds, the blond let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry Axel, but it’s not possible” the wave of disappointment that washed over him should not have been that painful.

“Oh. No, yeah, I totally understand. Heh. Sorry for asking such a weird-“ but before he could continue, the blond actually _laughed_.

“No, no. It’s not possible right now, because until the anesthetic wears off, you can’t eat or drink anything. And that will take up to three or four hours, depending on your organism. But perhaps tomorrow, around 7 PM? Unless the offer is a ‘Today only’ kind of deal. Though I would be very disappointed if it was” there was a twinkle in the dentist’s eye and Axel wondered if kissing a guy he wanted to take out on a date _before_ the actual date was inappropriate. Deciding that it was, he limited his reaction to a gleeful grin.

“It would stand even if you said the only time you were available was at three in the morning” the blond stared at him for a second before writing something down in the open notebook resting on the desk. He quickly ripped the page out and gave it to the redhead, a very small smirk on his face.

“My number” he said when Axel looked at him questioningly “Call me sometime in the evening today, or in the morning before nine, so that we can arrange the date, alright?”

Axel nodded his head enthusiastically, euphoria filling all of his being, because the cute blond totally juts called it a _date_. Which meant that he knew that Axel was hitting on him, and didn’t mind in the least. In fact, he seemed to be flirting _back_.

Just before the redhead disappeared behind the door, he heard the blond calling out to him. He turned around and saw the man smirking, one hand on his hip.

“It’s Roxas, not Doctor”

Axel decided that Zexion deserved a present.

**xxx**

On their first date, Axel found out that Roxas was a year younger, was originally from Destiny Islands and that he liked Italian food.

On their second date, he found out that Roxas had four brothers, one older and three younger, and a twin sister. And also that he was _obsessed_ with sea-salt ice cream.

On their third date, he found out that Roxas royally sucked at art, loved sunsets and missed the beach back home. It was also the first time Roxas kissed him.

On their sixth date, Marluxia, Larxene and Demyx were spying on them, and since they sucked at spying, the date was ruined. Instead of freaking out, Roxas just laughed that beautiful laughter of his and invited the trio to join them in the café.

By the time the 36th date rolled around, Axel realized he was kind of really in love with the blond.

Two dates later, he accidentally let it slip when he saw Roxas in his shirt. Contrary to whatever anyone might have assumed, the two hadn’t slept with each other up to that point. The blond was simply staying over. Let’s just say that after that night, all of their friends’ teasing was finally justified.

Both of them lost count of their dates soon after, but it was during Christmas a year and a half after  their first one when Axel met Roxas’ family. He was both terrified and thrilled. But mostly terrified. Mostly of Cloud. (and that _goddamn_ Vanitas brat, always trying to trip him, Axel would pay him back one day)

A few months later, Roxas met Axel’s mother and brother. The redhead thought his chest would burst with happiness when he saw the love of his life fitting in so well into his small family.

It was on Roxas’ 28th birthday that Axel proposed. Five days after the redhead’s 29th birthday, on August 13th, the two of them officially became husband and husband.

And though he still had to go to the dentist sometimes, and wasn’t completely over his fear of them, the fact that Roxas was the one treating him made it all a bit more bearable. Even though he always teased him mercilessly afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> Because Vanitas would be the overprotective little brother that snarled at everyone who got too close to his precios big bro Roxas. And Sora and Ventus would probably either tease or pout because someone was snatching their brother away from him. Brother complexes, all of them. Only Xion and Cloud didn't give poor Axel a hard time. Well okay, Cloud kind of glarde, but that's just his natural expression. 
> 
> Aaaanyway I'm rambling pointlessly. Sorry. Sorry for any embarassing grammar mistakes and thanks for reading!


End file.
